Unsent Letter

I’m always unprepared when
someone I know has passed away
which always seems less final
then died, but no matter how
it’s phrased a light is extinguished
and memories are left
I remember how you parsed the meaning
from books we read in the book club,
or the time you rented a carriage
in Acadia for your dog, or
the evening we all went out for
Thai food and laughed through the meal,
or bumping into you at Bedford Farms
Ice Cream and agreeing we were
obsessed with their frozen yogurt and ice cream

Rest In Peace Mary Ellen